Chapter 82

Early the next morning, a letter from the Imperial City was delivered to Chu Shaoling's tent.

This time, the imperial edict was personally approved by the Emperor. Although it was not in the Emperor's handwriting, it bore the Emperor's dragon seal. Chu Shaoling sneered inwardly, it wasn't easy for him, he actually managed to survive.

The Emperor just repeated the same few words, telling Chu Shaoling not to act recklessly, not to be greedy for merit, not to slaughter indiscriminately, and not to stir up trouble. Chu Shaoling didn't even bother to read it carefully and casually tossed it aside.

Along with the Emperor's letter, there was also a secret letter from Chu Shaotao. Chu Shaoling broke the wax seal and opened the letter in front of Wei Ji for them to read together.

After the Emperor was in a coma for two days, he woke up, but was very weak and couldn't get out of bed. He couldn't even sit up without support. At first, the Empress Dowager, seeing that the Emperor's condition was really bad, didn't want to tell the Emperor about the poisoning in detail. She wanted to wait until the Emperor recovered a bit before mentioning those dirty things. Unexpectedly, as soon as the Emperor woke up and came to his senses, he ordered Chu Shaoling to return to the Imperial City, saying that he wanted to thoroughly investigate the Crown Prince's treason.

There was no more ridiculous joke. The Emperor actually suspected that it was Chu Shaoling who poisoned him, and wanted to summon Chu Shaoling, who was already at the front lines, back to be interrogated. The Empress Dowager couldn't bear it anymore and directly ordered the officials to tell the Emperor the whole story.

The Empress Dowager was too lazy to cover up for Chu Shaoruan anymore. The Empress Dowager originally feared that the Emperor's body couldn't withstand adding hail on top of snow, but who would have thought that the Emperor could actually suspect Chu Shaoling. The officials who were handling the case presented the physical evidence to the Emperor and said bluntly: The Second Prince Chu Shaoruan committed regicide. If it weren't for the timely treatment of the imperial physicians, a major event would have occurred.

The Emperor never imagined that it was actually Chu Shaoruan who harmed him. After a moment of shock, he vomited a large mouthful of blood. The imperial physicians hurriedly brought medicine and fussed about for half a day before managing to calm the Emperor's breath. The Emperor's anger attacked his heart, and after vomiting a mouthful of blood, he became much more clear-headed.

He stared blankly at Chu Shaoruan's confession for a long time. The Empress Dowager's heart was filled with mixed feelings, and she persuaded in a low voice, "Forget it, just consider it as raising this son in vain. You doted on him so carefully for so many years, who would have thought he would turn around and bite us! Don't blame me for saying this, Emperor, open your eyes and see how you treated the Empress back then. Did the Empress ever show the slightest disrespect? How have you treated Consort Li and Chu Shaoruan these years? And how did they repay you?!"

The Emperor suddenly remembered what he had said to Chu Shaoling that day in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. That day, the Emperor scolded Chu Shaoling as an "ungrateful wretch" because Chu Shaoling refused to promise to treat Chu Shaoruan well. Now, karma had come, and he himself had to suffer the consequences. The Emperor's mind went blank, and he immediately fainted. When he was revived, half of his body was already paralyzed.

"The Emperor's condition is getting more and more serious," Wei Ji carefully looked at Chu Shaoling's expression. "Should Your Highness write a letter of well-wishes to send back?"

Chu Shaoling burned the letter sent by Chu Shaotao and sneered, "Writing him a letter is not wishing him well, but urging him to die. No need to pay attention. Today, we attack Karakash. Where do we have the time to bother with him!"

Chu Shaoling acted as if nothing had happened, mustering troops and appointing generals, ordering them to attack at noon that day.

This time, Chu Shaoling had a righteous reason to dispatch troops. Liaoliang dared to send assassins to attack, so Chu Shaoling was no longer polite. He directly mobilized 60,000 soldiers, vowing to drive Liaoliang out of Karakash before dark.

Wei Ji's 6,000 elite soldiers were divided into the vanguard. Before setting out, Chu Shaoling assigned his own dozens of personal guards to Wei Ji, only instructing, "If the Cavalry General Wei encounters any mishap, you should commit suicide. No need to come back to see me."

Wei Ji refused for half a day after learning about it, thinking it was inappropriate for Chu Shaoling's personal guards to protect him. Wei Ji pleaded, "Your Highness, Your Highness's safety is the most important. I know Your Highness is worried about me, but..."

"Knowing that I'm worried is good enough." Chu Shaoling was also wearing military attire today. The silver armor made him look even more valiant. Chu Shaoling said in a deep voice, "It doesn't matter how many soldiers are by your side. This is the first battle, so be careful and make no big mistakes."

After Wei Ji declined for half a day to no avail, he had to agree and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, please be very careful. Arrows and spears have no eyes. Your Highness..."

"No need to worry," Chu Shaoling rubbed Wei Ji's head and smiled. "Today, your wish is finally fulfilled, right? You can finally gallop on the battlefield and showcase your ambitions. No other words, just tell those 6,000 elite soldiers that they are there to protect your life, not to seek merit and fame, understand?"

Wei Ji bowed his head, "I obey your command."

Chu Shaoling pulled Wei Ji into his arms and deeply kissed his forehead, then left the tent and said, "Let's set out."

Chu Shaoling and Wei Ji mounted their horses together. Wei Ji turned his horse's head and retreated to the front of his own troops. Chu Shaoling rode his horse slowly past the left side of the army and asked loudly, "Do you know what we are going to do today?"

The officers and soldiers cheered incessantly. Chu Shaoling nodded and said loudly, "Yes! We are going to fight the barbarians and drive Liaoliang out of Karakash! But not only that!!"

Chu Shaoling reined in his horse, gently stroked the slightly restless horse beneath him, and said in a clear voice, "We are not only killing Liaoliang, we are avenging the people of the Great Chu's northwest!! Here! Right here! For years, the people of Karakash have suffered from the trampling of the Liaoliang barbarians. How much suffering have they endured! How much injustice have they suffered!"

"Here lies the blood left by our compatriot brothers, the tears left by our compatriot sisters! How long have they waited to finally see you all! To finally see the soldiers who will avenge them without fear of life and death!" Chu Shaoling's eyes were like torches, and every sentence was resounding. "Think about it! Think about what kind of life they had before! The climate in the northwest is unforgiving. How difficult it is for generations to survive here! Despite the difficulty, they still have to endure the invasion of foreign tribes. That's right! Even so, the people here have not given up this barren land!! Because they know! They understand! Someone will always come! There will always be soldiers who are not afraid of life and death, who will come with the stars and moon to avenge their previous humiliation!!"

The officers and soldiers at the front were stirred up with hot blood and kept beating their weapons to respond to Chu Shaoling. Chu Shaoling slightly raised his head and said in a deep voice, "We are not slaughtering, we are letting the people on the northwestern border see! Let them see that the Great Chu still has men! Still has heroes! Still has soldiers who can save them from water and fire! As long as I, this Prince, am not dead, I will guard until the last moment! As long as the army is not dead, every single one will pick up a saber and charge to kill! Heaven bless the Great Chu, this battle is sure to be victorious!!"

The officers and soldiers heard this and all cheered, "Heaven bless the Great Chu, this battle is sure to be victorious!"

"Heaven bless the Great Chu, this battle is sure to be victorious!!"

Chu Shaoling straightened his silver helmet and declared in a loud voice: "Brothers!! Take a good look at this land, this land that has been trampled by Liaoliang countless times! A hundred years from now, tell our descendants! From the autumn of the 16th year of Tianqi! The Great Chu has never again suffered the humiliation of the past, never again allowed foreign tribes to invade an inch of our land!!"

The soldiers all responded in unison, the blood on their young faces almost bursting out. Chu Shaoling turned his head and looked at Wei Ji. Across countless soldiers, their eyes met, reflecting deep feelings in each other's hearts. How fortunate to be fighting side by side!

After Chu Shaoling's pre-battle mobilization, the bugle sounded, and the soldiers charged like wolves towards the place where the Liaoliang army was stationed in the western Karakash!

Many years later, Chu Shaoling still remembered that battle. It was his first battle leading the expedition to the northwest, and also Wei Ji's first battle after joining the army. In that battle, Chu Shaoling suppressed his unease and let Wei Ji be the vanguard. Wei Ji was young, with the aura of a teenage hero. Wei Ji was steady, with the strategy of an old general. He was the most suitable to be the vanguard.

More importantly, Chu Shaoling was eager for Wei Ji to establish military merit. Before this, no matter how noble the position, it was all given by Chu Shaoling. But after the battle of Karakash, Wei Ji would be granted the title of First Class Duke, which Wei Ji earned himself with real swords and spears!!

The young pup that Chu Shaoling had once protected under his wings had finally grown into a wolf on this day. This wolf led the six thousand elite soldiers given by Chu Shaoling and charged to the front of the Liaoliang formation. Wei Ji didn't even bother with the Liaoliang formation. Wei Ji made it clear that under absolute power, any formation is just flowery spears. Wei Ji no longer used his archery skills of shooting a hundred paces, but instead picked up a three-foot broadsword and led the crowd to charge into the center of the Liaoliang formation, breaking through left and right, killing on sight. Wherever he went, corpses littered the ground. Wei Ji's team was like a sharp blade, directly crushing into the enemy formation!

The Liaoliang army was completely disrupted by the vanguard led by Wei Ji. Wei Ji himself had no formation and did not allow Liaoliang to use formations either. Under the blades, the Liaoliang were chopped and scattered in all directions. Even before the central force led by Wei Zhan rushed over, the Liaoliang army had already been stirred into loose sand. Wei Zhan ordered the Eagle Formation to surround and annihilate the Liaoliang, working with Wei Ji from the inside and outside, leaving none alive!

In this battle, Wei Ji became famous in one fight.

For a long time afterwards, the people on the northwestern border still remembered Wei Ji's blood-red banner with the character "Ji". When that banner appeared on the barren land of Karakash, it seemed to carry a murderous aura. The Liaoliang barbarians would change color upon hearing of it, knowing that under the Crown Prince of the Great Chu there was a fierce general who would kill Buddhas if he encountered Buddhas, and kill gods if he encountered gods.

With the initial victory, this battle lasted nearly three hours. Wei Ji's vanguard had actually slain over ten thousand enemies, creating an insurmountable legend in the many years of warfare on the northwestern border. When Chu Shaoling personally led the army to welcome back Wei Ji's troops, even the iron armor on Wei Ji's body had been dyed red with blood. After fighting for so long, Wei Ji was already exhausted, relying entirely on his vigor to hold on. Chu Shaoling rode over, and Wei Ji dismounted, kneeling on one knee and said in a deep voice, "This subordinate is fortunate to not have disgraced the orders."

Chu Shaoling dismounted and walked to Wei Ji, helping him up. Wei Ji staggered a bit. Chu Shaoling supported Wei Ji and wrapped his own black cloak around him. Wei Ji said softly, "Your Highness, Your Highness need not worry, this subordinate is not injured."

Chu Shaoling looked at Wei Ji's horse. After battling for many hours, the horse had lost an iron horseshoe and white foam was oozing from the corner of its mouth. Chu Shaoling held Wei Ji and helped him onto his own horse. Wei Ji subconsciously glanced around. Chu Shaoling said in a deep voice, "The mount of the Cavalry General is injured. Ride back to camp with me."

Chu Shaoling took the reins and mounted the horse, gently holding Wei Ji in his arms. Although uneasy in his heart, Wei Ji couldn't help but lean against Chu Shaoling. He was still excited in his heart, but after the battle, he had no strength. At this moment, he also missed Chu Shaoling's embrace immensely.

The surrounding officers and soldiers looked at the two of them without any unusual expressions. After today's battle, who would still look down on Wei Ji? Who would dare look down on Wei Ji?

Chu Shaoling adjusted the cloak to wrap Wei Ji up properly, and rode the horse back to camp.